


Make Up For

by JoMouse



Series: Tumblr Prompts [18]
Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Architect Zayn, Boys Kissing, Engineer Liam, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pining Liam, Pining Zayn, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-08-10 21:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7861762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Zayn, it's always been Liam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make Up For

**Author's Note:**

  * For [carbsoncarms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/carbsoncarms/gifts).



> This was the prompt I got: For Zayn, it has always been Liam. Liam may have had people coming and going in his life, Zayn still chooses to love him secretly despite the pain he feels. In the end though, that ultimate love is finally reciprocated. 
> 
> I also got a prompt from the same [sweet person](http://archiveofourown.org/users/carbsoncarms/pseuds/carbsoncarms) for Architect!Zayn and Engineer!Liam, so I combined them.
> 
> Here is the story I wrote. Hope you like it!
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Zayn leaned over the drafting table, a pencil tucked over his ear, another poised above the paper. His eyes should be on the design in front of him, but his attention was riveted to the scene playing out on the other side of the small office. Liam was sitting on the edge of his desk, shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbows, showing off his tattoos. As he talked to Niall, the delivery guy from the pub next door, Liam crossed his arms over his chest, making his biceps bulge in a way that dried out Zayn’s throat.

As he watched, Niall glanced over at Zayn. He raised his hand in a wave, Zayn blushing when Liam’s focus turned towards him. Zayn returned Niall’s wave before turning his attention to his drawing. He forced his pencil to move over the plans for the new addition at the high school, but he lost focus every time he heard Liam’s laughter fill the room. Slowly, Zayn pulled his brain away from the man on the other side of the room, his best friend and secret crush, getting lost in the design, in his job.

Zayn wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he felt someone standing next to him. He glanced over, finding Liam looking over the drawing. “Is it almost ready to be printed?” he asked.

“Probably tomorrow.” Zayn finished the section of the new media center before standing up, stretching backward, feeling a satisfying pop in his spine and letting out a low moan.

“Keeping ahead of schedule, as always,” Liam said, placing a hand on Zayn’s shoulder. Zayn sighed at the warmth of Liam’s hand. “You really need to stop bending over your desk for so long,” Liam said, moving behind Zayn to begin rubbing his shoulders.

“Oh, don’t stop,” Zayn groaned out, but his mind was screaming for Liam to stop before he found himself in an uncomfortable situation. 

Liam’s phone chimed, and he moved away from Zayn to pick it up. His eyes widened when he read whatever text had just come in. “I’m late!” he yelped.

“Did you get a second job without telling me?” Zayn asked as he started cleaning up his area, having noticed it was well after six, and, once again, he and Liam were the only ones left in the office. When Liam didn’t answer, Zayn looked up to see Liam’s face was bright red. “What?”

“I have a date,” Liam mumbled.

Zayn felt his throat closing up as he forced a smile to his face. “Anyone I know?” he managed to ask in, what he thought was, a pretty even voice.

“Louis down in payroll?” 

“Liam-” Zayn started.

“I know. I know. He and Harry just broke up. Again. But Louis is a nice guy. And he asked,” Liam argued. 

Zayn felt the words like a jab, but he kept the smile in place as he looked over Liam. “Well, at least you can wear what you’re wearing.” He moved towards him, pulling off Liam’s tie, tossing it on his desk before undoing the top button. He fought the urge to continue unbuttoning, refusing to look Liam in the eye while standing so close. Zayn was confident his feelings were all over his face, but Liam hadn’t figured it out yet, so maybe not. Taking a step back, Zayn looked over Liam again. “You look great. Now go. Have fun.”

“Thanks,” Liam whispered with a twisted smile. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something else, but snapped it shut with a shake of his head before grabbing his wallet and hurrying out of the room.

Zayn turned back towards his drafting table with a sigh. He might as well stay, try to get the design finished. At least it would be a distraction from thinking about Liam out with Louis. Shrugging out of his jacket, Zayn unbuttoned his oxford, leaving it hanging open over the white vest he wore beneath. He kicked his shoes off, removing his socks, digging his toes into the fluffy rug underneath the table. He worked better like this, not choked by business attire.

He worked for about an hour before his stomach growled, twisting painfully. He glanced at the clock with a groan, realizing he hadn’t eaten since around eleven. He reached for his phone, hitting the speed dial for Horan’s Pub. 

“Don’t tell me you’re still at the office?” Niall’s voice rang through the phone, startling Zayn. Without giving him a chance to answer, he continued talking. “Veggie burger with a side salad, house dressing, and a large soda, yeah?”

Zayn felt his face heat up at his apparent predictability. “Yeah. Thanks. Just put it on the card you have on file.”

He could practically hear Niall’s eye roll through the phone. “Of course. You should really just come down here and eat, get away from the office,” he told him.

“Too much to do,” Zayn argued, wondering when they’d all become such good friends with their delivery guy, but appreciating that they had.

“Give me about a half-hour to forty minutes, we’re a bit swamped right now with people who actually leave their offices on Friday nights,” Niall teased.

“Wanker,” Zayn muttered, grinning when Niall just laughed and hung up the phone.

Zayn stretched his back again, taking off his oxford and throwing it on the floor, bending at the waist to touch his toes. He slowly stood up, feeling each vertebra slide back into place. Sitting on the floor next to his table, he laid back, pressing his spine into the floor before bringing his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly, feeling the stretch through his back. He groaned loudly, holding the pose for a ten count before letting go of his legs and flopping out his limbs in a starfish pattern.

He stared up at the ceiling of the office with a sigh. Now that he’d relaxed his body and was no longer focused on work, his mind went back to its usual vocation - thinking about Liam. He’d known Liam since they were ten years old when Zayn’s family moved, and he started at a new school. He’d walked nervously into the classroom, glancing up to find everyone staring at him with suspicious looks on their faces. Except for Liam. Liam had a wide smile on his face, waving when he caught Zayn’s eye. Zayn had tentatively waved back. The teacher must have noticed the interaction because she sat the two of them together. 

The first words Liam had spoken to Zayn were, “We’re twins,” as he pointed between their matching Batman shirts. Zayn’s smile grew, and the two of them fell into easy conversation, being quieted numerous times by the teacher, who’d been wearing a fond smile the entire time. It was that moment Zayn will claim as the one where he fell irrevocably, and unknowingly, in love with Liam.

It wasn’t until later that he found out from his mum, after parent-teacher conferences, that the teacher had never seen Liam interact with another student like he did with Zayn. Before Zayn, Liam had kept to himself, spending a lot of his free time in the classroom with the teacher rather than outside with the other kids. The tales of their inseparability followed them year to year, the school keeping them in the same classes.

Zayn had loved it, at least until Liam became more popular. Liam didn’t treat him any differently, but some of his newer friends weren’t very nice to Zayn if Liam wasn’t around. He also had to sit back and watch as Liam began dating. First, girls, which was actually easier because at least then it was because Zayn was a guy that he wasn’t interested. Then their last year of college, Liam started dating a guy in one of his classes. Their relationship hadn’t lasted long, but Liam had exclusively dated men since, forcing Zayn to face the fact that it was just him Liam wasn’t interested in.

So, Zayn had played the role of super-supportive best friend. He’d allowed his heart to repeatedly break along with Liam’s every time a relationship didn’t work out. It never helped that Liam was extremely clingy when heartbroken, snuggling with Zayn for days or weeks until his heart was knit back together. Zayn hated himself for enjoying those times despite how much his friend was hurting.

Zayn never dated. Ever. He’d tagged along with Liam and his friends to dances, always stag, dancing with some girls he knew, but wishing he was dancing with Liam. He knew that Liam worried about him, but he always just said there was really no one he was interested in. Every single time, he wished he had the balls to just tell Liam the truth. Tell Liam that he was in love with him and always would be. No one would ever be able to steal his heart because it was already locked solidly in Liam’s chest.

Zayn sighed as he glanced towards the clock on the wall. Niall should be getting there anytime, and he would have to let him in the front door, knowing Liam would have locked him in the building, as he always did when Zayn worked too late. Rolling to his stomach, Zayn pushed himself to his feet, repeating the slow roll he’d done earlier. Once he was standing, he stretched his arms over his head with a groan.

“I told you that you need to stop working so much,” Liam said, startling Zayn. He whipped around to find Liam leaning in the doorway, a brown bag in one hand and a drink carrier in the other.

“You did get a second job,” Zayn joked, willing his heart to slow down. Liam’s hair had fallen out of its perfectly styled quiff into a curly mess, like he looked after a vigorous workout or an intense shag. Zayn felt a crack in his heart at the thought of what Liam and Louis had been up to for him to look that way.

Liam shook his head, coming into the room. “I was at the pub when you called. Offered to help Niall out by bringing your order. Decided to get me something, as well.” He set the stuff down on the meeting table near Zayn’s workstation. Digging through the bag, he pulled out two sandwiches and salads, setting them down.

“What happened to your date?” Zayn asked as he approached the table, pulling the sodas out of the carrier. He unwrapped their straws, sliding them into the cups before handing one to Liam, knowing they were the same. It wasn’t until he was settled, cross-legged, on top of the table, salad bowl in his lap that the realized Liam hadn’t answered. He glanced up to see Liam mirroring his position on the table, his head down, fork poking at his salad, but not actually eating. “Li? What happened? Do I have to kill Louis now?” He thought that would be a shame because Louis was fun to hang out with, but if he hurt Liam in any way, Louis was dead to him.

“You’ll laugh,” Liam said, looking up at Zayn through his eyelashes.

“Never,” Zayn promised, growing more worried the long Liam avoided the question. “Seriously, if he hurt-”

“No!” Liam interrupted, his head snapping up and eyes wide. “No. He’d never.” Liam chewed his lip for a moment. Then he picked up his soda, sticking the straw in his mouth and mumbling around it.

His concern was growing, as Zayn tilted his head, moving his food to the table. He scooted closer to Liam until their knees were touching. Zayn reached over and took Liam’s drink from him, setting it aside. “I didn’t quite catch that,” he said, laying a hand on Liam’s knee.

“Didn’t actually have a date,” Liam repeated, his voice still very quiet, his eyes squeezed shut, like he could pretend Zayn wasn’t there, couldn’t hear him. When Zayn didn’t say anything, Liam’s eyes opened slowly. “You’re laughing at me.” His lower lip pouted out.

Zayn shook his head slowly, trying to understand what Liam had said. “Absolutely not. I’m just confused. Why would you tell me you had a date when you didn’t? Did you think it was a date, then Louis showed up with Harry?”

Liam’s face flushed. “Not exactly. I mean, Louis and Harry were there, very much back together, by the way, but it was never supposed to be a date.” Liam ran a hand through his hair, tugging harshly on the ends of it. “It was Louis’ idea to tell you we were going out to see if you’d get jealous.”

“Jealous?” Zayn was really confused now, but he felt his heart picking up its pace, like it was catching on quicker than his brain.

“It was stupid. I told Louis you wouldn’t be. I told him you didn’t like me like I like you.” Liam was rambling, his hand still in his hair, eyes looking everywhere, except at Zayn. “I was right. You didn’t even care. Just helped me get dressed, wishing me luck, with that same bright smile on your face that you’ve always had when I’m going out with someone else.”

Liam scooted to the edge of the table then, hopping off, starting to pace around the room. “For years, you’ve been the one who was there for me. You’ve been my best friend, always supporting me, always helping me.” He said these as if they were bad things, the very things Zayn tried so hard to be so Liam wouldn’t discover his feelings. Liam stopped next to the table, staring at Zayn finally, his eyes filled with unshed tears. “You did all of those things, but you never loved me like I wanted you to.” 

Zayn’s jaw dropped as he moved to the edge of the table, legs hanging over the edge, one on each side of Liam’s legs because they were now so close together. Zayn’s mind was spinning, trying to make sense of Liam’s rambling, trying to understand if he was saying what he thought he was saying, or if Zayn’s brain was just projecting his own feelings. Zayn’s eyes were soft as he looked up at his best friend. “Liam-”

“No. Please, don’t feel sorry for me,” Liam said, misinterpreting the look in Zayn’s eyes. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ve ruined everything.” He started to take a step back, his eyes on the floor, but Zayn reached out, grabbing at the belt loops on Liam’s trousers. Zayn tugged him closer, ducking his head so he could look up into Liam’s face. “Zayn, please, just let-”

“Liam, stop,” Zayn interrupted. Liam froze, but Zayn could feel him trembling beneath his hands as he released the belt loops to lay his palms against Liam’s waist, hoping the warmth would help calm Liam. “You haven’t ruined anything. I’m just trying to understand what you’re saying.” His heart was screaming at him that Liam was in love with him, that his wildest dreams were coming true, but his head was begging for caution.

“I don’t know how to be any clearer,” Liam said, finally looking up, his hands coming up to cup Zayn’s cheeks. Zayn’s breath caught as Liam leaned closer. “I am in love with you. Have been forever, but every time I asked you who you were interested in, you said no one. Every time you said that, I found someone else to go out with, but they never worked. They were never you.”

Zayn tried to breathe, tried to speak, but his focus was on Liam’s teeth, dug into his lower lip, so close to his own. After a long moment, when Liam released his lip to run his tongue over it, Zayn found his voice. “We have so much to talk about, but I have to do something first.”

“Wha-” Liam started to ask but was cut off by Zayn pulling him closer and pressing their mouths together. Pent up emotion exploded into a kiss that was years overdue, the fight for dominance became a dance of contentment until they had to break apart to catch their breath. “So, what were you going to say?” Zayn laughed as he buried his face into Liam’s chest, feeling Liam’s arms move to wrap around him, pulling him even closer. “Seriously, Zayn, please say it,” Liam whined, his voice so quiet that Zayn barely heard him.

Zayn tilted his head up to look at Liam, who now had tears leaving his eyes. Panic struck through Zayn. “Babe,” he cooed, cupping Liam’s face and using his thumbs to brush away the tears. “I’ve been in love with you since the day we met. It’s always been you, but I never wanted to stand in the way of you finding happiness, so I always supported you. I never wanted to be the reason you didn’t do something. I never wanted you to look at me one day and blame me for your unhappiness. Every time your heart was broken, mine was, too.”

“But-”

Zayn shook his head, cutting Liam off. “I never told you because I didn’t want to ruin what we had. I was willing to just love you secretly, despite how much it hurt to watch you go out with other people. There were so many nights that I spent curled on the couch, crying while you were gone. The worst were the nights you didn’t come back until the next day, looking so fucked out, that I was surprised you couldn’t hear my heart shatter.” Liam looked so destroyed by those words, that Zayn had to lean in to kiss him again. “To think, the entire time, we were in love with each other and too afraid or stubborn or stupid to say anything.” 

“We’re massive idiots,” Liam said, smiling through the tears that were still falling.

Zayn wrapped his legs around Liam’s waist, pulling him even closer until they were pressed together shoulder to groin. “Idiots with a lot of lost time to make up for,” he whispered, a cheeky smile on his face as he leaned back onto the table, using a grip on Liam’s shirt to pull him down on top of him.

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to come talk to me on Twitter or tumblr. I really love meeting new people!


End file.
